by Marie Force
“Hey, El.” Hunter sounded rushed and abrupt. “You’re home? Okay, thanks for calling. See you tomorrow.” He ended the call and turned back to Megan. “Sorry about that. Now where were we?”
She shook her head. “It’s okay. I’ll be fine. It was just … tonight.” Shrugging, she added, “The news sort of blindsided me.”
“Of course it did.” He took her hand, apparently comfortable touching her now that she’d all but begged him to, and led her into the living room, where he sat on one of the sofas and drew her down next to him. “You’re losing your sister from your daily life, not to mention your job. That would upset anyone.”
“I want to be happy for her,” Megan said softly. “She’s done so much for me.”
“Tell me.” He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “I want to know you.”
Sitting next to him in his lovely home with his appealing masculine scent filling her senses and his kindness touching her heart, Megan wanted to know him, too.
“You know our parents were killed in a car accident the winter of my senior year of high school.”
“Yes, I remember. I don’t know if I ever told you how truly sorry I was for you and Nina. Your folks were great people.”
His kind words nearly brought her to tears again. “Thank you for saying that. Yes, they were. It was an awful time, but somehow we got through it together. Nina was a senior in college, but she came home to be with me, and she never left. She finished her degree over the summer. Then, when she and Brett got married, they took the house, and I moved to the garage apartment. I’ve been there ever since. She opened the diner, I went to work for her and the years just sort of passed in a blur. And now … Now I’m not sure what I’ll do.” Megan ran her damp hands over the soft denim of her jeans. Talking about the darkest days of her life never got any easier, even ten years later.
“I’m sure the thought of her moving away has to be so upsetting for you.”
“It is, but I’m also feeling selfish for wishing she wouldn’t go while at the same time I’m happy for her to have this incredible opportunity. Crazy, right?”
“Not at all. She’s your anchor. It’s only natural you’d feel this way at the thought of her so far away. I’d die if Hannah moved away from me.”
She smiled at his attempt to make her feel better. Had she ever noticed what a nice guy he was? “I feel like a big baby weeping over the fact that my sister is moving overseas.”
“I think you’re being really hard on yourself. For one thing, the news shocked you because you hadn’t been expecting it. For another, you and Nina share a special bond that will be changed by this, even if it’s a good change. For her at least.”
“It’s a good change for me, too. It’s time for me to shake things up a bit. Maybe I’ll finally go to college or find a job with more potential or something. After the way I reacted to Will falling for Cameron, I’m sure you’d all like to see the last of me. With Nina leaving and my job going away, there’s no reason to stay.”
“That’s not true. There’s a very good reason to stay.”
CHAPTER 3
The words had been said before he took a second to consider the implications of laying it all on the line. Sitting next to her on his sofa, her hand curled around his, Hunter wanted to keep her there forever. Listening to her talk, her nearness spinning him up in knots, he wanted her like he’d never wanted another woman.
He’d sensed the fragility beneath the tough veneer she showed the world, and now that he’d seen the fragility firsthand, he wanted to fix things for her, to make her smile again, to make her happy. Why he wanted that so badly he couldn’t begin to know. It just was, the way Hannah was his twin, Molly and Lincoln were his parents and Butler was his home.
She looked at him, her head tilted ever so slightly in inquiry. “Are you going to tell me this very good reason I should stay?”
“I, um …” Hunter Abbott didn’t stutter. He didn’t fumble over his words, or at least he never had before. Until Megan Kane’s crystal blue eyes seemed to see right through the smooth exterior he showed the rest of the world. “I don’t want you to go.”
“Why?”
Shaking his head, he laughed softly. “Damned if I know.”
His words hung in the air between them, almost like a gauntlet he’d thrown down, hoping she’d pick it up and run with it. Did she understand what he was saying? Perhaps not, which was why he tried to think of a better way to say it. “I like you, Megan. I have for a while now.”
“You like me … as in …”
“I like you. A lot.”
“Why?” she asked, wide-eyed. “I’m not even nice most of the time.”
Her blunt comment made him laugh again. “We all have our moments.”
“I have more than most. I’ve been awful to Cameron, for one thing. I’m trying to be a better person.”
“I heard you apologized to her.”
“I did.”
“That’s good of you.”
“I was wrong to treat her that way. It wasn’t her fault he fell for her.”
“No, it wasn’t.”
She glanced at him, and the hesitance he saw in her eyes made him want to hold her again and never let her go. “You like me even though I used to like him?”
“That never mattered to me, although I often wished you might someday consider his older, wiser and much more handsome brother.”
Her laughter surprised and delighted him. He’d never heard her laugh like that before, and he loved it. He loved that he’d made it happen and wanted to do it again.
“So you used to like him,” he said tentatively. “As in past tense?”
“Yes, past tense. He’s crazy about Cameron, and so is everyone else.” She shrugged it off, as if it hadn’t hurt her to watch Will fall for Cameron. “He said something to me recently … about how I was focusing on the wrong Abbott brother.”
Hunter was so shocked to hear this that he didn’t know what to say. Will had tried to help his cause with Megan? That was news to him.
“Was he talking about you?”
“Yeah, I think he was.”
“Is this why you asked me out a couple of months ago? You said it might help me to get over Will if I went out with someone else. I told you I didn’t think going out with Will’s brother would help me get over him.”
“I remember,” he said, grimacing. It hadn’t been funny at the time. Rather, it had felt like the final nail in his coffin where she was concerned. He’d left the diner that day feeling as if he had a better chance of winning a million bucks in the lottery than he did of ever getting Megan to notice him as anything other than her beloved’s brother.
“Did I hurt your feelings that day?”
“You crushed me.” After a pause, he smiled so she’d know he was teasing her. Sort of.
Her lips parted, her eyes widened and he wanted to kiss her so badly he burned with it. “I’m sorry.”
“I was teasing. I wasn’t totally crushed. Just kinda.”
“I didn’t know. I’ve been so oblivious, and I feel terrible.”
“That’s not why I told you. I don’t want you to feel terrible. I wanted you to know. That’s all.”
“That’s all? Like that’s the end of it?”
“I’m hoping it’s just the beginning of it.”
Megan struggled to absorb the shock of hearing Hunter admit he was interested in her. Romantically interested. Hunter Abbott of the Green Mountain Country Store Abbotts. The man who dressed like an advertising executive on Madison Avenue in New York rather than an accountant on Elm Street in Butler. He was smart, quiet, handsome, intense and currently looking at her in a way that made Megan’s skin feel unusually warm.
She had to put a stop to this. How had it even happened? One minute they were eating pizza and the next they were talking about him being interested in her. She’d never thought of him that way. For so long, the only man she’d wanted had been his brother Will, who had never t
hought of her as anything other than the waitress he talked to at the diner.
To hear that Will’s brother had harbored secret feelings for her while she harbored not-so-secret feelings for Will was … Well, she didn’t know exactly what word to use to describe how strange that was.
She stood up. “I need to go.”
“Because of what I said?”
“Because I can’t process this on top of everything else that’s already happened tonight. My brain feels like it’s spinning or something.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t tell you that to upset you more than you already were. I just … I wanted you to know.”
“You didn’t upset me.”
“Let me drive you home.”
“That’s not necessary. I can walk. It’s not that far.”
“It’s dark and cold, Megan. Let me drive you. Please?”
“Fine. Okay. Thanks.”
He went to get his jacket and returned with his keys. Neither of them said anything as he followed her out to the driveway, where he again held the car door for her and waited for her to get settled.
Megan watched him walk around the front of the SUV and get into the driver’s side.
Hunter put on his seatbelt but made no move to start the car. After a long silence, he cleared his throat. “I know I already said it, but I really am sorry. Tonight was not the night to have this conversation.”
She turned in her seat so she could try to make out his face in the inky darkness. “I want you to know I’m flattered. I truly am. And I’d like to talk about it. Sometime. Just not tonight. If that’s okay.”
“It’s okay.”
“Are you mad?”
“No,” he said with a small laugh as he turned the key to start the engine. “I’m sort of oddly relieved that you know.”
“So you’ve … felt this way, about me … for a while, then?”
“Yes.”
“How long?”
“I don’t know.”
“How can you not know?”
“I don’t remember not feeling this way.”
“Hunter! I’ve known you for years!”
After another long pause, he said, “I thought we weren’t going to talk about this tonight.”
Megan had so many questions suddenly running around in her mind, but he was right. She’d put a stop to the conversation, so it wasn’t fair to restart it just because she had questions.
He drove to her house, which was located about a mile past his parents’ house on the way to Butler Mountain.
“I can get out here.”
Hunter pulled up to the curb. “I suppose it would be useless to offer to walk you to the door.”
“It would,” she said with a smile, “but thank you for asking and for the pizza and the ride. And everything.”
“No problem.”
“We’ll talk about it, Hunter. I promise.”
“I’ll hold you to that. You know where to find me.”
“Yes, I do.” She got out of the car and headed for the garage apartment at the end of the long driveway, aware of him watching her even though he couldn’t see her.
Hunter Abbott. Though his revelations had added to the emotional turmoil swirling inside her, Megan couldn’t stop thinking about the sincerity she’d felt coming from him. She’d been focused on Will for so long that the thought of another man being interested in her was something that would take some time to process.
As she showered and changed into cozy flannel pajamas, Megan thought about Hunter and everything she’d learned about him during the eventful evening they’d spent together.
She got into bed thinking more about his confession than she was about the impending changes in her life that had upset her in the first place. Snuggling into bed, she relived every minute she’d spent with him, from the second he found her crying in the dark outside the store until he dropped her off at home.
He’d been so thoughtful and caring, scooping her up and taking her home with him, feeding her and listening to her cry over her sister’s surprising news. And when he’d held her for that all-too-brief moment in the kitchen, the last thing on her mind had been her feelings for his brother.
She could still remember how good he’d smelled and how great his strong arms had felt around her. The tingle of desire she’d experienced in his arms had taken her completely by surprise, and once again, she really wished she hadn’t ruined the moment by gasping. What might’ve happened if she had handled it better?
Now she would never know, but she fell asleep hoping she might get another chance to find out.
Hunter returned home to a ringing phone and ran to answer it.
“Hey there,” a female voice said.
Hunter had no idea who it was until she started speaking again.
“I wanted to let you know that Tom has the kids this weekend if you want to get together.”
Oh God, Lauren …
“Hunter? Are you there?”
“Yeah, I’m here. Sorry, just getting home and ran for the phone.”
“It’s been a while. I thought it might be fun.”
It was always fun with Lauren, but that was all it had ever been or ever would be. After holding Megan in his arms, however briefly, he had no desire to spend time with any other woman. “I wish I could, but this weekend is crazy.” In truth he didn’t have any plans, but he hoped that would change between now and then.
“Do you?”
“What?” he asked, not following where she was going with the question.
“Wish you could?”
“Lauren …”
“Do you have someone else, Hunter?”
He ran his fingers through his hair repeatedly, wishing he could think of a way to get out of this conversation without hurting her feelings. She’d been a good friend to him for a couple of years. “I, um … I might. I don’t know.”
“You don’t know? What does that mean?”
“It means,” Hunter said with a sigh, “I can’t see you anymore.”
“You aren’t sure if you have someone else, but you can’t see me anymore. You realize how crazy that sounds, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Are you sure?” The question was tinged with sadness that made him feel bad.
He thought of Megan’s gorgeous face, her teary blue eyes and the way she’d felt in his arms. “I’m sure.” He was sure of nothing more than he wanted a chance with her, and that could never happen as long as he was still seeing Lauren on occasion.
“I’m really sorry to hear that. I thought we had a fun thing going.”
“It was fun.”
“So that’s it? We’re done?”
“I don’t know what you want me to say.” He eyed the leftover pizza still sitting on his counter, his stomach turning at the sight of it. Then he realized she was crying, and he felt like total shit. “Lauren, come on. We were never about anything more than a good time. I thought you knew that.”
“I did know that, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have feelings for you.”
“I wish I knew what to say, but I don’t.”
“Were you going to tell me that we were done?”
“I guess I’m a little confused here. I wasn’t aware that we were in any kind of relationship, per se. We dated here and there, but that was the extent of it.”
“That’s not all we did.”
“We had fun. Didn’t we?”
“Yes, but—”
“No buts. That’s all it was. Fun. Please don’t make it into something more serious than that because we both know it wasn’t.”
“I’m going to go now.”
“Lauren—”
“Bye, Hunter.” When the line went dead he pressed the Off button and returned the cordless phone to the cradle. With his hands flat against the granite countertop, he tried to figure out how this night had gotten so far out of control in the course of two hours.
“At least I’m not stuck in my usual rut,” he said with a
laugh that turned to a grimace when he recalled the hurt in Lauren’s voice. His conscience was clear where she was concerned. They’d had an uncommitted, once-in-a-while arrangement that usually revolved around the one weekend a month when her young kids were with their father.
He liked Lauren and had enjoyed the time they’d spent together, but he didn’t think of her between visits. He didn’t count the days or the weeks until he could see her again. Hell, he hardly even talked to her except for on the weeks they saw each other. He had nothing at all to feel guilty about, and she knew it. He’d intentionally kept his friendship with Lauren uncommitted and casual because he had feelings for someone else. So why did he feel like the world’s biggest asshole after the conversation with her?
He wished he could call Hannah and air it out with her, but it was too late to call her. She’d know just what to say to make him feel better and to help him figure out what his next move with Megan ought to be. He stashed the leftover pizza in the fridge and wiped down the countertop before trudging upstairs, unbuttoning his shirt as he went.
Hunter stripped down to boxers, brushed his teeth and got into bed, his mind still whirling from the eventful evening. His thoughts kept coming back to that all-too-brief moment when he’d held Megan close to him and felt the click of two halves coming together in a perfect fit. He could still recall the scent of jasmine that had surrounded her, making him want to get even closer to her.
God, he had it bad for her, and the thought of her leaving town made him crazy. Mindful of her huge crush on Will, he hadn’t acted on his feelings for her, but he’d always known she was right across the street, working every day at the diner, close by even if she had no idea how he felt about her.
He thought about the possibility of buying the diner from Nina and Brett. If only they hadn’t just agreed to acquire additional acreage to expand the family’s sugaring facility to accommodate expected demands from the new website. Between that and the cost of the website, the family business couldn’t afford to take on something else. Not right now anyway. He needed time to pull the financing together, but time was the one thing he didn’t have where Megan was concerned.
Hunter had money of his own put away, but it probably wasn’t enough to buy the diner, and besides, how would that keep Megan in town? Hadn’t she said it was time to shake things up? To maybe go to college? To get a “real” job?
